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We are pleased to announce that the 11th SIG Tutorial on Design Theory will take place from 04 - 05 February 2027, in Paris, France.
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Are designers truly objective when they design, or are their judgments systematically skewed? How do cognitive biases influence design processes and outcomes? Can some biases enhance creative problem-solving, while others undermine it? As AI and other forms of technological support become increasingly embedded in design practice, do they amplify existing human biases, introduce new and less visible ones, or offer opportunities to detect and mitigate bias more effectively? And how should we—as design practitioners, researchers, and educators—respond?
DESIGN 2026 - Workshop 7
Mind the Bias 2.0: (Un)Biasing the Designer in the Age of AI
Location: Hotel Croatia, Cavtat, Croatia (Room TBC)
Dates: 18 May 2026 (Time TBC)
Chairs: Ada Hurst, Christopher McTeague, and Niccolò Becatini
Organised by: Cognitive Design Science SIG
Workshop Description
Are designers truly objective when they design, or are their judgments systematically skewed? How do cognitive biases influence design processes and outcomes? Can some biases enhance creative problem-solving, while others undermine it? As AI and other forms of technological support become increasingly embedded in design practice, do they amplify existing human biases, introduce new and less visible ones, or offer opportunities to detect and mitigate bias more effectively? And how should we—as design practitioners, researchers, and educators—respond?
These questions lie at the heart of the “Mind the Bias” workshop series organised by the Cognitive Design Science SIG. The workshop explores the role of cognitive bias in design thinking, decision-making, and collaboration, with a particular focus on the evolving interaction between human designers and AI-based tools.
This second edition of the workshop welcomes both new participants and returning attendees from the inaugural event held at ICED 2025. Building on insights emerging from the Dallas workshop—where more than 40 participants contributed—the discussion will focus on how designers interact with emerging AI tools used in design practice, research, and education.
The workshop examines a dual phenomenon:
- The emergence of new biases introduced or reinforced by AI tools, and
- The potential of AI to act as a debiasing mechanism, supporting designers in recognising and counteracting systematic errors in judgment and decision-making.
The workshop invites diverse perspectives, including:
- Designers and practitioners, confronting biases in everyday collaboration and interaction with design tools.
- Educators, reflecting on their own biases in teaching design and recognising biases in students’ decision-making.
- Researchers and PhD students, encountering bias when framing research questions, designing experiments, or interpreting data and results.
- Participants seeking reflection, who are uncertain about the extent to which cognitive biases influence their own thinking and decisions.
Through interactive breakout sessions, participants will exchange personal experiences and examples of bias in design contexts. These exchanges will be followed by collective reflection and synthesis, aiming to build shared understanding, identify recurring patterns, and outline opportunities for future research and practice.
By foregrounding lived experience, open dialogue, and interdisciplinary perspectives, the workshop fosters a reflective and inclusive space in which every viewpoint contributes to a richer understanding of cognitive bias in design.
Key Outcomes
- A summary report of the workshop, capturing key insights, discussions, and emerging themes.
- A proposal for a joint publication, grounded in a shared research agenda on cognitive biases in design, with particular attention to their interaction with AI-based tools.
